Search Results: find phone numbers

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department is now requiring nearly all applicants for U. S. visas to submit their social media usernames, previous email addresses and phone numbers. It's a vast expansion of the Trump administration's enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors.

In a move that's just taken effect after approval of the revised application forms, the department says it has updated its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa forms to request the additional information, including "social media identifiers," from almost all U. S. applicants.

The change, which was proposed in March 2018, is expected to affect about 15 million foreigners who apply for visas to enter the United States each year.

"National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications, and every prospective traveler and immigrant to the United States undergoes extensive security screening," the department said. "We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect U. S. citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States."

Social media, email and phone number histories had only been sought in the past from applicants who were identified for extra scrutiny, such as people who'd traveled to areas controlled by terrorist organizations. An estimated 65,000 applicants per year had fallen into that category.

The department says collecting the additional information from more applicants "will strengthen our process for vetting these applicants and confirming their identity."

The new rules apply to virtually all applicants for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. When it filed its initial notice to make the change, the department estimated it would affect 710,000 immigrant visa applicants and 14 million nonimmigrant visa applicants, including those who want to come to the U. S. for business or education.

I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter a while ago. My friends managed once to find a really old YouTube video I made and that prompted me to see just how much of my information was online. I have a very unique full name. Only other person in the world with my name is my dad so seeing all the information that came up on me specifically do kinda siked me out. So I kinda just started getting rid of a lot of stuff and over time felt no use for most platforms and stopped using them all together. All I have is Snapchat now. I just don't like having my information that easily available. Just one search and you can find where I live, went to school and what my phone number is? No thanks. Now the reason I mentioned girls is, cuz I'm curious if it seems suspicious and/or unappealing if a guy doesn't actively use popular social media sites